Trumpeter shares how music saved his life

Linda Tuccio-Koonz

Published 11:09 am, Wednesday, July 2, 2014

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Danbury musician Jumaane Smith has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Now heís completed his solo debut, ìI Only Have Eyes for You.î

Danbury musician Jumaane Smith has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Now heís completed his solo debut, ìI Only Have Eyes for You.î

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Danbury musician Jumaane Smith has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Now heâÄôs completed his solo debut, âÄúI Only Have Eyes for You.âÄù less

Danbury musician Jumaane Smith has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Now heâÄôs completed his solo debut, âÄúI Only Have Eyes for ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Danbury musician Jumaane Smith, 33, has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Now heâÄôs completed his solo debut, âÄúI Only Have Eyes for You.âÄù less

Danbury musician Jumaane Smith, 33, has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Now heâÄôs completed his solo debut, âÄúI Only Have Eyes ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Danbury musician Jumaane Smith, 33, has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Smith, whose first name is pronounced Jew-mah-knee, is a trumpeter and vocalist who also plays piano and several other instruments. Now heâÄôs completed his solo debut, âÄúI Only Have Eyes for You.âÄù less

Danbury musician Jumaane Smith, 33, has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Smith, whose first name is pronounced Jew-mah-knee, is a ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Danbury musician Jumaane Smith, 33, has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Smith, whose first name is pronounced Jew-mah-knee, is a trumpeter and vocalist who also plays piano and several other instruments. Now heís completed his solo debut, ìI Only Have Eyes for You.î He's seen here with Jackie Evancho, who sings a song on his album. less

Danbury musician Jumaane Smith, 33, has worked with everyone from Michael Buble and Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys, Justin Bieber, and Natalie Cole. Smith, whose first name is pronounced Jew-mah-knee, is a ... more

"I found music when I was 9 and it became my best friend," said Smith. "It saved me."

A resident of Danbury, Smith plays multiple instruments. His recently released debut album, on which he plays trumpet and sings, is "I Only Have Eyes for You." It's a smooth, sexy mix of love songs; one of them, "Come Rain or Come Shine," features vocals by Grammy winner Michael Buble.

Smith and Buble share a friendship that's both personal and professional. It started nearly a decade ago when Smith joined Buble's band. Since then they've traveled the world, playing everywhere from stadiums to historic landmarks, even performing for two U.S. presidents.

"It's like a big family; it's an amazing experience," said Smith, 33, and a married father of two. "Michael is a great person inside and out. He's mentored me over the years. I appreciate that.

"And Michael is easy to work with," he added. "I wouldn't have stuck around so long if he wasn't."

Buble isn't the only star on Smith's new album. It also features Naturally Seven on the title song, as well as 14-year-old prodigy Jackie Evancho on "La Vie En Rose."

Though Smith's life is very much on the upswing now, it wasn't always so. His childhood, he said, was horrible at times.

"I grew up in Seattle. My stepfather was addicted to drugs, and it created a very bad situation in the house," Smith said. He would abuse my mother and myself. He was very violent; at one point he put a gun to my head. I was just a little kid when this happened. It was almost a decade before we could get out."

Music became his passport from domestic violence. It was something he'd always loved. Fortunately, his aunt was married to a bass player with a studio in his basement. Even at 4, Smith was messing around with instruments there.

In fourth grade a teacher showed his class some different band instruments. Smith was infatuated with the French horn, but the school didn't have one to teach him on, and he couldn't afford one, so they gave him a trumpet. He was 9 at the time and that shiny horn became his passion. He also learned to play piano, bass and drums. Smith said he was "a very damaged kid" from all he'd endured, but he didn't let that define him. He chose to look forward, not back, and kept practicing .

In high school he had a band director, Scott Brown, who was "motivational and inspiring." Between that and the influence of some older students, he wound up on a path to healing the wounds from his childhood.

As a student he went on a field trip to perform in the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. "It was my first time on an airplane and out of the country. I got to see these amazing musicians. It inspired me and made me want to put more effort in," he said.

Smith said he and his family (his mother, brother and sister) were "flat broke" when that field trip came up, but he was able to go through a scholarship. "It opened my world in so many ways," said Smith. As a high school senior he connected with Wynton Marsalis, who suggested he move to New York.

Smith earned scholarships to The New School University in New York and to Juilliard, where Marsalis was his private trumpet instructor for two years. "That was amazing," he said. "There were so many people intensely dedicated to their craft. ... Music pulled me out of the horrible situation I was in. It inspired me and saved me."

While still at Juilliard, his friend, Craig Polasko (the bass player in Buble's band), recommended him for a one-night gig with Buble. Afterward, Smith was invited to stay and join the next tour. "Here we are, almost a decade later," said Smith. "I generally go more places in a year than most people go in a lifetime."

Traveling as a professional musician has its challenges, such as living out of a suitcase and being apart from family, but Smith feels fortunate to do what he does. He realizes everyone has struggles in life, and hopes the music he and his bandmates create will help erase some of that pain, even if only for a while.

"I love playing for people and being in the moment," he said. "It's amazing being on stage; if you can share a beautiful moment together, that's so inspiring."

lkoonz@newstimes.com; Twitter@LindaTKoonz

Jumaane Smith is on tour with Michael Buble and will play at New York's Madison Square Garden July 7-8 and the Mohegan Sun on July 10. Visit www.jumaanesmith.com.